David vs Goliath- 1 Sam 17
We are continuing with our King David series, and today we have the most famous story about David- the battle between David and Goliath. Even people who have never picked up a Bible know about this story.
Last week we heard God’s comment to the prophet Samuel when he was looking at Jesse’s sons to find the new king-
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 15:7).
Against expectations, David is chosen, the youngest of his brothers, who they didn’t even think to bring along with them.
Last week I mentioned that this is a theme we see throughout the Bible. Abraham and Sarah, the elderly couple who were not able to have children, have a child that will in turn lead to the nation of Israel. Moses, a runaway Hebrew murderer, who had been adopted into Pharaoh’s family, now living as a shepherd, with no talent for speaking, is selected to be the face of God’s powerful rescue of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Jesus, the Messiah, is born and placed in a manger, not a palace. He conquered the world by dying on a cross, not with an army. His followers are fishermen, a tax collector, and others who one might not expect to lead a movement that would spread across the world and become the world’s largest religion. In our reading from 2 Corinthians, St. Paul speaks about this paradoxical reality-
Last week I mentioned that this is a theme we see throughout the Bible. Abraham and Sarah, the elderly couple who were not able to have children, have a child that will in turn lead to the nation of Israel. Moses, a runaway Hebrew murderer, who had been adopted into Pharaoh’s family, now living as a shepherd, with no talent for speaking, is selected to be the face of God’s powerful rescue of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Jesus, the Messiah, is born and placed in a manger, not a palace. He conquered the world by dying on a cross, not with an army. His followers are fishermen, a tax collector, and others who one might not expect to lead a movement that would spread across the world and become the world’s largest religion. In our reading from 2 Corinthians, St. Paul speaks about this paradoxical reality-
“…We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:8-10).
We might also look at other comments he makes to the Corinthians on this biblical theme saying,
“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor 1:27);
and he writes about God’s word to him,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
… In the book of Revelation we see a small wounded lamb going to battle with a fierce dragon. It is a theme we find throughout the Bible- The small and unassuming, triumphing in unexpected ways through God’s power.
Our present story illustrates this point powerfully. … The army of Israel is fighting against the Philistine army, an enemy they have faced on multiple occasions since the time of Joshua. David is taking a break from watching the sheep to come and bring food to his older brothers who are in the army. David isn’t even a soldier. … While he is there, he hears Goliath issue a challenge for an Israelite to step forward to face him. He proposes a one-on-one fight that would end their battle and save many lives. Saving lives is probably not what is on Goliath’s mind though. He seems to be happy to issue the challenge over and over as a way of pointing out the cowardice of the Israelite army. Goliath is said to be 9’ 9” tall. Some scholars say that the average male height at the time was around 5’5”. Goliath was heavily armoured with a helmet, chain mail, leg guards, breast plate, a shield, a sword, and a massive spear. He is an image of the latest technology of war. He is a tank. Obviously, Goliath would have been very intimidating, which is why no one was picking up the challenge to face him. David seemed to see it as shameful that no one would stand up to the repeated challenge of Goliath to defend the honour of the army of God’s people. So, the young David volunteers to fight him. David believes that God protected him when fighting off wild animals when he was protecting the sheep, so God will protect him when facing Goliath too. David interprets the circumstances with his eyes on God, rather than seeing the situation in purely earthly terms.
David rejects the offer to wear Saul’s armour, instead he faces the fully armoured giant with his shepherd’s staff and a sling. … This is an interesting point to reflect on, actually. David maintains his vulnerability and his identity as he faces Goliath. The God who protected him when he was a shepherd was the same God who protected him now, and armour doesn’t change that. David’s confidence is rooted in God and the fact that he is God’s anointed one. His confidence is not in the technology of war. … Also, offering David armour might not be purely a caring act on Saul’s part. It might also be that Saul wants to send him in as Saul’s representative- in a sense, to take over David’s identity- to make David his tool, his weapon. The hand of Saul’s daughter has also been promised to the victorious warrior, which furthers the image of overtaking the identity of David- he becomes Saul’s son- an extension of Saul- his family. But David can’t go as Saul’s man. He has to go as God’s man. When he was anointed by the prophet Samuel, he was out with the sheep. He will go to battle as God’s man, not Saul’s.
As David approaches, Goliath speaks about appearances-
Our present story illustrates this point powerfully. … The army of Israel is fighting against the Philistine army, an enemy they have faced on multiple occasions since the time of Joshua. David is taking a break from watching the sheep to come and bring food to his older brothers who are in the army. David isn’t even a soldier. … While he is there, he hears Goliath issue a challenge for an Israelite to step forward to face him. He proposes a one-on-one fight that would end their battle and save many lives. Saving lives is probably not what is on Goliath’s mind though. He seems to be happy to issue the challenge over and over as a way of pointing out the cowardice of the Israelite army. Goliath is said to be 9’ 9” tall. Some scholars say that the average male height at the time was around 5’5”. Goliath was heavily armoured with a helmet, chain mail, leg guards, breast plate, a shield, a sword, and a massive spear. He is an image of the latest technology of war. He is a tank. Obviously, Goliath would have been very intimidating, which is why no one was picking up the challenge to face him. David seemed to see it as shameful that no one would stand up to the repeated challenge of Goliath to defend the honour of the army of God’s people. So, the young David volunteers to fight him. David believes that God protected him when fighting off wild animals when he was protecting the sheep, so God will protect him when facing Goliath too. David interprets the circumstances with his eyes on God, rather than seeing the situation in purely earthly terms.
David rejects the offer to wear Saul’s armour, instead he faces the fully armoured giant with his shepherd’s staff and a sling. … This is an interesting point to reflect on, actually. David maintains his vulnerability and his identity as he faces Goliath. The God who protected him when he was a shepherd was the same God who protected him now, and armour doesn’t change that. David’s confidence is rooted in God and the fact that he is God’s anointed one. His confidence is not in the technology of war. … Also, offering David armour might not be purely a caring act on Saul’s part. It might also be that Saul wants to send him in as Saul’s representative- in a sense, to take over David’s identity- to make David his tool, his weapon. The hand of Saul’s daughter has also been promised to the victorious warrior, which furthers the image of overtaking the identity of David- he becomes Saul’s son- an extension of Saul- his family. But David can’t go as Saul’s man. He has to go as God’s man. When he was anointed by the prophet Samuel, he was out with the sheep. He will go to battle as God’s man, not Saul’s.
As David approaches, Goliath speaks about appearances-
“Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” (1 Sam 17:43).
David does sort of compare Goliath to an animal, no different from the bears and lions he fought off when defending his flock. While Goliath speaks about the visible, David speaks about the unseen realities-
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel…” (1 Sam 17:45).
… David doesn’t trust in his shepherd’s staff and sling. David is God’s anointed (the prince of Israel), and Goliath represents the enemy of God’s people. Where God is concerned, we should beware of trusting in outward appearances.
As Goliath moves to attack, David slings a stone, killing the giant. … Back in the book of Judges we read that David’s tribe, the Benjamites, “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (Judges 20:16). So, this isn’t just a lucky shot. David’s people are talented with a sling, but God works in David’s effort.
It is a graphic story, and though our movies and TV shows are full of good guys killing bad guys, we tend to be pretty uncomfortable when it comes to this kind of violence in our spiritual stories. We don’t like to think about God taking sides in a war and helping someone end the life of someone else. … So what do we do with this? … I think we have to allow the Bible to speak from its own historical context. The Bible is about real life, and the world can be a pretty violent place. The context of the story is of a people, a family, trying to find a way in a violent world- surrounded by hostile armies. … But the theme of the story continues on past that immediate context. We get a glimpse of God’s character in David’s surprising victory. God works in spite of appearances. … Since the time of the early church, Christians have seen David as symbolic, and especially as pointing forward to Christ.
Christ would be called the son of David. He is called the Messiah, which means the anointed one. David was anointed as prince of Israel- next in line to the throne. And Jesus would go to battle as well, but not in a way that was expected. He wouldn’t put on the armour of this world to be their expected warrior messiah, and he wouldn’t pick up the devil’s weapons. Instead of putting on armour, he was stripped and nailed to a cross. He took on the sin- the hate and violence of the world- and he responded with love and forgiveness. What can love do when faced with violence? What can a little shepherd do against a warrior giant? Against all expectations Jesus would receive our sin and die, to be resurrected and victorious 3 days later. … Christ is victorious over death and the powers of evil. As the Orthodox Easter hymn says,
As Goliath moves to attack, David slings a stone, killing the giant. … Back in the book of Judges we read that David’s tribe, the Benjamites, “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (Judges 20:16). So, this isn’t just a lucky shot. David’s people are talented with a sling, but God works in David’s effort.
It is a graphic story, and though our movies and TV shows are full of good guys killing bad guys, we tend to be pretty uncomfortable when it comes to this kind of violence in our spiritual stories. We don’t like to think about God taking sides in a war and helping someone end the life of someone else. … So what do we do with this? … I think we have to allow the Bible to speak from its own historical context. The Bible is about real life, and the world can be a pretty violent place. The context of the story is of a people, a family, trying to find a way in a violent world- surrounded by hostile armies. … But the theme of the story continues on past that immediate context. We get a glimpse of God’s character in David’s surprising victory. God works in spite of appearances. … Since the time of the early church, Christians have seen David as symbolic, and especially as pointing forward to Christ.
Christ would be called the son of David. He is called the Messiah, which means the anointed one. David was anointed as prince of Israel- next in line to the throne. And Jesus would go to battle as well, but not in a way that was expected. He wouldn’t put on the armour of this world to be their expected warrior messiah, and he wouldn’t pick up the devil’s weapons. Instead of putting on armour, he was stripped and nailed to a cross. He took on the sin- the hate and violence of the world- and he responded with love and forgiveness. What can love do when faced with violence? What can a little shepherd do against a warrior giant? Against all expectations Jesus would receive our sin and die, to be resurrected and victorious 3 days later. … Christ is victorious over death and the powers of evil. As the Orthodox Easter hymn says,
“Christ is risen from the dead, /by death trampling death, /and to those in the tombs /granting life!” (Paschal Troparion).
This is a theme that continues into our lives as well. If we are in the flow of God’s will, then in spite of appearances, we are unstoppable. There is a separate question about how we know we are in the flow of God’s will, but that is something we have to talk about another time. … If we look into the book of Acts we see this same theme throughout. A band of nobodies, in spite of overt persecution from their own people as well as Romans and Greeks, powerfully spread their message about Christ. We can look at St. Patrick, an escaped slave who returns to the land of his enslavement and leads it’s people into the ways of Christ. We could look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he used non-violent resistance to combat racist hate. … If we are in the flow of God’s will, then in spite of appearances, we are unstoppable. AMEN
Comments
Post a Comment